E-GOVERNMENT
Government ponders prisoner tagging
15-04-2003
by John Cradden
The government has said it will consider introducing electronic tagging for prisoners if the technology is improved.
The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Michael McDowell, told the annual conference of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) on Monday that his department had been monitoring the progress of electronic tagging in other countries, such as the UK.
"Satellite tracking of offenders using GPS (global positioning system) signals has been used in other jurisdictions on a limited basis," said McDowell. "I understand that a number of technical and other problems have hindered the initial GPS systems, but I have no doubt that these will be overcome."
"I can assure this conference that I am keeping developments under close review, and that I stand ready to make use of technology in this area as soon as I believe that it can make a contribution to the monitoring of offenders."
McDowell was responding to a call from the president of the AGSI, Joe Dirwan, to introduce electronic tagging as a way of relieving pressure on overcrowded prisons and protect the public from dangerous criminals, including convicted sexual offenders.
However, in a written reply to a parliamentary question on electronic tagging from Fianna Fail TD John Dennehy last month, the Minister for Justice said he had been advised of "problems of battery size and weight, signal interference, costs and location complexities have hindered the initial GPS systems", and that his advice was to wait for further developments in GPS technology.
"I also understand that lower technology and lower cost Curfew Tracking Systems are being developed in a number of jurisdictions based on a combination of mobile phone technology and voice verification technology and my officials are also monitoring current developments in that regard."
Furthermore, he said in the written reply that tagging was effective only over a three to six month period and suitable only for low risk offenders "whereas our court requirements may well be for the most serious offences and longer periods."
Electronic monitoring has been widely used in the United States for more than a decade, and now many countries in the rest of the world are introducing schemes for the tagging of certain offenders. South Africa believes it will enable 30,000 prisoners a year to be released from the country's overcrowded jails. In Sweden, tagging is used to enforce curfews for people convicted of drink-driving offences.
Electronic tagging is already being used in jurisdictions in the UK. It was piloted in Manchester, Reading and Norwich between 1995 and 1997 and was introduced on a wider scale in 1999.
According to the Offender's Tag Association in the UK, to date 27,000 people have been released from prison early to serve out the remainder of their sentence "on the tag." Only 2 percent tagged offenders have re-offended while on the tag -- most of the offences were driving-related.
In the absence of any firm proposals to introduce electronic tagging in the State, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) said it had no firm position on the issue, "but broadly speaking we would be cautious about this measure," said spokesman Liam Herrick.
"Having said that, any alternatives to imprisonment have to be considered, but we would be concerned that there could be a lot of negative side effects unless all of the consequences were properly addressed."
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